This is a super popular game for personal communication devices such as the iPhone. Created in 2009, the result of a little sketch and a brain storming session from a small company in Finland, these characters are dominating their medium with millions of Angry Birds gaming apps being sold.

Now they're moving beyond the iPhone and into the mainstream.

The animation for this property is pretty darn good, so let's check some of it out.

To attest to their popularity, this video has gotten 7,363,878 YouTube views since last September as of this posting.

Angry Birds Rio is now available worldwide to help animation fans while away the hours until the April 15, 2011 opening of Fox and Blue Sky Studios’ Rio.

The movie-themed version of Rovio’s incredibly popular mobile game can be downloaded from the App Store for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, from the Mac App Store for Mac computers, and for Android devices in the Amazon Appstore. The game was developed in conjunction with Twentieth Century Fox, and features the animated stars of the upcoming film.

The game sees the Angry Birds find themselves in the magical city of Rio where they must save their friends, the rare macaws Blu and Jewel.

Users of Angry Birds Rio will have the ability to directly buy tickets to see the film with a new in-app ticketing feature via http://www.RIO-themovie.com.

Believe it or not, there's talk of the Angry Birds franchise going the way of an IPO, which is a public offering of the company's stock.

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'Angry Birds' maker eyes IPO

The game is completely addictive. But does it have the potential to become a major entertainment brand?

By Kim Peterson May 9, 2011

Can "Angry Birds" take a company public? The maker of the addictive game hopes so.

Rovio, the company that makes the game, hopes for an initial public offering in three to four years, the chief marketing officer told a Finnish newspaper. "We are not in a hurry," added Peter Vesterbacka, according to Reuters.

He also thinks Rovio could become the world's leading entertainment brand in three years. Give the guy points for being ambitious, however unrealistic that sounds. He does go by the nickname "Mighty Eagle," after all.

Vesterbacka has good reason to be confident. "Angry Birds" is a sensation, having hit 140 million downloads in April. It's one of the most popular games of all time. The game sells for 99 cents on Apple's App store, and there is a free version available as well.

And Rovio is awash in money, having raised $42 million in funding in March. The funding was co-led by Accel Partners, a venture firm that has backed names like Facebook and Baidu.

Vesterbacka told Reuters that Rovio's 2011 sales would be around 50 million to 100 million euros, or $72 million to $143 million, a huge leap from 6.5 million euros, or $9.3 million, in 2010.

Rovio wants to ride the "Angry Birds" juggernaut as long as it can. It hopes to turn the game into a major entertainment brand, with a particular emphasis on China.

"We are now in the top three for the most copied brand in China," Vesterbacka told IDG News. "We are up there with Disney and Hello Kitty."

Rovio, the creator of the ANGRY BIRDS game franchise, has purchased the Finnish animation house Kombo, writes The Hollywood Reporter. The deal was for cash and Rovio stock. Kombo will now be solely dedicated to Rovio properties. This is the first big move for Rovio since securing $42 million in venture capital.